Black Tatoos and Gloves
by Seasnake
Summary: Selina Kyle knew what her name said, it said Bruce Wayne. Soulmate AU Soul mates Catwoman/Batman


Selina knew what her wrist said. It said Bruce Wayne. She knew who Bruce Wayne was. She also knew she would never do anything about it. Unless she happened to meet a second Bruce Wayne, one who was not a playboy billion-air, she'd die without ever introducing herself to her soul mate. It's not that she had a problem with Brucie per say. She loved his type of man to wine, dine, and rob blind. But coming forward as his soul mate would mean tests to make sure her mark was real, official marriage documents, her face on the front page of the Gothom Gazete, and a harder time sneaking out at night to find her adrenaline rushes. Not to mention, her soul mate would know her real name, and she had spent far too much time and effort removing Selina Kyle from all official records to share that information.

Being mateless didn't bother her. As a child she was too busy dealing with her won crap and worrying about where her next meal would come from. Now, she didn't need the extra baggage and she certainly didn't need to find the second half of her soul. She was Catwoman, her soul was plenty whole. Maybe she'd meet with Brucie when she was old and ready to retire. He could be her backup plan incase she ever fell off a roof and broke her back or ended up unable to scale rooftops one way or another. But until either of those things happened, she didn't have to worry about it.

Like many people in her business, she opted to tattoo over the name. She did a big favor for a tattoo artist, enough to secure his loyalty. Then paid him to cover the signature with a solid black bar. She could have it laser removed if she ever needed to, but until then, her secret was secure.

She kept an ear open for any reports from Wayne manner about Brucie looking for his soul mate. She also made sure to never use a name that involved Selina, Kyle, or both in any place that might reach Mr. Wayne's attention. Other than that, her soul mate had no affect on her life whatsoever.

When she got to know Batman through night time randavues, she almost wished he was her soul mate. She didn't love him, didn't know him well enough to make that claim. But if her wrist read "Batman" she would certainly give it a try. That was how she got to wondering.

The idea festered in the back of her mind. Like an itch begging to be scratched. Normally, any inclination like that was an item begging her to steal it. It took a bit of consideration but eventually she decided to humor the notion. After all, she was a cat, her instincts rarely steered her wrong.

The first step was easy enough. She crashed two parties where Wayne was scheduled to appear. A third party she attended as a banker's plus one, she emptied his safe later that night as an added bonus. At first, everything she had read in the papers seemed legit but by the second gathering she could see the fakeness in his smile. She was a leading lady, herself, she could recognize an act when she saw one. At the third party, she got close enough to Burce to study him. She carefully memorized, the curve of his jaw, his lips, his height, his build, his voice, and every mannerism she saw.

She did some fact checking. The comings and goings of Batman compared to Bruce's. The equipment Batman used, how much did that cost, anyway? She got a hold of as many of Wayne Tech's financial records as she could without causing suspicion. Just to double check, she compared Bruce's signature to the photo she had taken of her wrist before getting it covered. Everything matched far too closely to discourage her plan.

If it was any other rich man she would muse over her suspicion and avoid ever robbing him, just in case. But her soul bond was involved. Her soul mate might be Batman, she couldn't let that lie. If curiosity killed the cat this time around, then at least she could go down in a blaze of glory. She double checked that her backup alias was ready in case she needed to flee the country then moved on to the final stage of her plan.

The searchlight on the roof of the police building, sometimes called the "bat signal", got just as much use from the rouges of Gothom as from the police. She found a chimney to sit on a few buildings away and waited. It took roughly an hour for him to show up.

"I was starting to think you were busy," she greeted.

"I am, what do you want Catwoman?" She walked close to him, and stood the same distance away that she had from Bruce Wayne. She had a tip about a new ring of nasty drug smugglers to give him if this didn't go well. Obviously, his suit hid most of his features but everything she could see matched. He turned his head and glared at her impatiently, oh she was sure now.

"I've got something you should see." She passed him an envelope that held nothing about drug smugglers.

She stepped back a few paces and let him open the envelope. Inside were only two things, the several-year-old photo of her wrist and a slip of paper that she had signed in black ink.

"You found Wayne's soul mate," Batman kept his voice unperturbed. Catwoman raised a single eyebrow and put on her best "let's cut the crap" face. All he did was narrow his eyes so she continued.

"Traditionally, we shake hands now." She held out the wrist that had the name on it. "I'd show you my wrist in person but I had it tattooed over years ago." He just stareed at her for a moment.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"A chance."

"No."

"Come on, you were born with my name on your wrist. I can't be all bad."

"How did you find out?"

"A hunch mostly. I had your signature but no way was Brucie my soul mate." He didn't say anything so she continued. "And you're good but a tip from a professional, watch your neck. You have this habit turning slightly to the left when you're annoyed." Nettling him got the response she was looking for.

"Fine. Come by the mansion later, Alfred will let you in." He growled then leapt to a nearby roof. She didn't follow, she had what she wanted.

Alfred turned out to be the kind of man that Selina liked, he thought with his brain instead of his penis, got things done affectively, had a sense of humor, and didn't take crap from anyone. He gave Selina a weary look but was otherwise welcoming. He was happy enough to have her around, apparently willing to overlook her profession if she could make Bruce happy. Not that Bruce had done anything other than lecture her about how he will still turn her over the police if he catches her from stealing from honest citizens. He really was quite handsome when he wasn't pretending to be brain dead.

Then there was Richard. Robin had always annoyed her but Dick turned out to be a sweet boy, smart too. Although initially not thrilled by her presence, he warmed up to her when she taught him how to pick locks. It's a practical skill, Bruce. I know you've picked locks before so don't complain. Her mother cat instincts had her doting on Dick in no time. Bruce was still giving her the evil eye but she chalked that up to his general grumpiness and moved her cats and some of her trinkets into the mansion without warning him before hand.

Her victory became complete over a month later. Bruce came back from some business function, obviously she wasn't going to show her face to cameras and go with him. Alfred was setting up dinner while Selina helped Dick with his math homework. A truly domestic scene, that she never thought she would be part of. Bruce frowned at them for a moment then muttered something that sounded like "fine" and sat down next to them. Selina allowed herself a mental victory cheer. Now there was only one problem left to solve. How were they going to arrange regular sex and romantic bed-sharing between their two schedules?


End file.
